


Doesn’t Change a Thing

by whatisreggieshortfor



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Coming Out, Getting Together, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Steven Meeks, Trans Charlie Dalton, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 00:15:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30131079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisreggieshortfor/pseuds/whatisreggieshortfor
Summary: Pitts asks Meeks out, finally. But Meeks is terrified Pitts can’t accept part of them.
Relationships: Steven Meeks/Gerard Pitts
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	Doesn’t Change a Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kieranicorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kieranicorn/gifts).



Gerard Pitts knew he had a crush on his best friend. It confused him at first, not knowing when the feelings had shifted or if they had just always been that way and he didn’t notice at first. But he was still determined to do something about it. Whether or not Meeks felt the same way, at least he would know. But every time he tried to tell Meeks, he chickened out. Pitts was determined this time would be different.

Meeks was fiddling with the wires as Pitts used his height to his advantage to aim the antennae. After a painstaking amount of time, a crackle broke through static, and with it the warbled tones of an eighties song. “We did it!” Meeks cheered, arms thrown in the air. Hands grabbing Pitts’s, the two of them broke into a dance.

Before Pitts could second guess himself, he grabbed his best friend, pulling them against him as he dipped down to press their lips together. When pulled back he was met with a wide eyed look behind his favorite pair of glasses, “Um-“ he stared back, trying to rack his brain for something to say. Meeks surprised him though, caressing his cheeks and pulling him back in for a gentle kiss. When they broke apart, pink dusted both their cheeks. “Do you want to go out with me tonight?” He shoved the words out, watching the other’s eye light up.

“I would really love to. See you at six?” Pitts could only nod dumbly, a wide dopey smile on his face as the other walked.

Meeks immediately made a bee line for Neil’s room, where, as thought, Charlie and Neil both were. “I need your help.”

“What’s up, dude?” Charlie asked lazily, not sitting up from where he laid upside on Neil’s bed.

“Pitts asked me out.” Charlie fell off the bed.

“Dammit!” He groaned, fishing out his wallet as he stood up, slapping twenty dollars into Neil’s open hand. “I expected him to chicken out again.”

Meeks raised an eyebrow, fingers fidgeting as Neil waved dismissively, “We’ve been taking bets on when he’d finally do it. Charlie thought he’d at least be another week. But what exactly do you need our help with? Do you not want to?”

“No, no, I do! I really do! But, uh,” Meeks took a deep breath, “I’m uh- I haven’t told him, or any of you actually, but I’m- I’m nonbinary.” They squeezed their eyes shut, waiting.

They heard a snort. “Dude, you know I’m trans, I hope you don’t actually think I’m gonna judge you.” Meeks opened their eyes, feeling embarrassed. “I get it, though. It’s a nerve wracking feeling, telling someone something so big about yourself. I threw up three times the day I decided to tell Neil I wasn’t a girl, and he’s been my best friend since first grade.”

“One of those times was on me.” Neil deadpanned. Meeks cracked a smile and the two of them high-fived, like they achieved their goal. Neil smiled, “So what’s the problem exactly?”

“Oh come on, Neil. The problem’s obvious.” Charlie rolled his eyes, “They are afraid to tell him.” Charlie gave Meeks a fond smile, which Meeks returned. “I know your brain is telling you that you need to be afraid, but Pittsie wouldn’t judge you. And he would still like you just as much as he would if you were a boy or a girl.”

“I know- I know that, like in my head, I know. But there’s just that voice and I really, really like him. It has me terrified.” Charlie reached over, clasping Meeks’s trembling hands.

“Listen, Meeksie, I know what you’re going through. And I know that no matter what any of us say to try to ease your doubt, it doesn’t just go away.” He squeezed their hands before continuing, “But you need to understand that just because that voice is there, doesn’t mean it’s right. You are loved, and you will be supported. Even Cameron isn’t a big enough shitbag to call someone the wrong pronouns, he cares too much about kissing ass for that.”

Meeks huffed a laugh, knowing their best friend was right.

“Am I even involved in this pep talk?” Neil interjected, amused when they turned to him, “I don’t have much to add, except of course that for once Charlie is right. Pitts looks at you like you hung the stars, and you’re still Meeks, so just breath.”

“You’re right. You’re both right.” Meeks muttered, pulling their hands away to take their fingers through their mop of curly red hair. “I should just do it, right? Tell him?”

“If you’re ready to.” Charlie answered thoughtfully, “If you aren’t, that’s okay. Is it that you feel like you have to tell him before you can go out with him?”

“Isn’t it kind of a betrayal if I don’t?” Meeks asked quietly.

“No, Meeks. It’s not. Because coming out is your choice, and no one- not a single person, you hear me? No one is allowed to take that away from you or make you feel bad because you weren’t ready to do it. And until you are ready, you are allowed to keep it to yourself. Now, what pronouns would you like us to use in front of the others?”

Meeks thought about it a bit, their gut instinct saying they/them. But were they really ready for that? Coming out to all of them? And then they thought about still being called he and him. And how they felt every time those words hit their heart and weighed it down. So they were honest. “They and them. Please.”

Charlie grinned, “You got it. Can I still call you my dude and that stuff?”

“Yeah,” Meeks nodded, “That’s okay.”

“Does this mean you’re gonna tell him?” Neil asked and Charlie smacked the back of his head.

“Stop being an ass, Perry. Meeks will tell him when their ready.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Neil groaned, rubbing his head. “I meant, Pitts isn’t an idiot. So Meeks wants us to use those pronouns, he’s gonna figure it out that something isn’t what he thinks, and he’ll figure out that Meeks is nonbinary, or genderfluid, or something.”

“You’re right.” Meeks said quietly, twisting their fingers, “But I think I will. Tonight, before- before the date.” Charlie and Neil flashed encouraging smiles, before Charlie declared he was helping them get dressed.

At least exactly six o clock, there was knock on Charlie’s door, which he opened with a big grin to reveal Pitts dressed in a button down shirt a pair of jeans. “Ooh, looking fancy. Come to whisk me away?”

Pitts snorted, “You’re not the one I’m here for. But since Meeks and I share a room and he wasn’t there, I figured he would be here.”

Charlie stiffened a bit as the word ‘he’ left Pitts’s mouth, but he quickly recovered, “Meeks is almost ready, come on in. I’m gonna head over to Neil’s room. I need to bug Todd to help me with the poem for Keating’s class.” He ducked out the door without waiting for a response. Pitts blinked before turning toward the other person in the room.

“Wow.” He breathed out when he caught sight of Meeks. Charlie had offered his closet, dressing Meeks in a nice sweater and fitted jeans, “You look really nice.”

“Thanks. So do you.” Meeks’s face flushed, the pink almost entirely erasing his freckles.

“Are you, uh, are you ready?”

“Actually,” the red head swallowed, “There’s something I need to talk to you about first. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Ooookay?” Pitts was confused, but he could tell by the other’s face that whatever it was is serious, so he sat down on Charlie’s bed. “What’s up?”

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Meeks said again, taking a deep breath. “I’m- I’m not a boy.”

Pitts nodded once, brow furrowed, “okay. Are you a girl?”

“No, I’m neither. I’m- I’m nonbinary.”

Pitts nodded again. “Okay. So I won’t call you my boyfriend.” Meeks’s heart sank abruptly, but Pitts continued with a soft smile, “Are you okay with the term partner?”

“What?” Meeks blinked, heart suddenly swelling.

Pitts turned to look into their eyes, smile firmly in place, “I’m not going to not like you now, Meeks. You are an incredible person, inside and out. I didn’t like you because you were a boy. I liked you because of who you are. Not what you are.”

Meeks wiped away stray tears as they smiled, “Thank you. I just- I really like you. And I’m afraid I’m going to ruin it.”

Pitts grinned, “You couldn’t ruin anything if you tried.” He stood up, extending his hand, “You ready to head to dinner? Or do you want to talk about it some more?”

Meeks took his hand, solid and warm in theirs, “Let’s go.” They pressed a quick kiss to the tall boy’s cheek.


End file.
